The A's announced Wednesday that they've reached an one-year agreement with slugger Khris Davis to avoid arbitration, two days before the deadline for clubs and arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary figures. The deal is worth $10.5 million.
Davis, 30, has crushed 85 homers with 212 RBIs over his two seasons in Oakland, including a career-high 43 home runs in 2017, good for fourth most in the Majors. He joined Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (1932-34) as the only A's players with back-to-back 40-homer seasons.
While Davis' power production remained elite, he did see a spike in strikeouts, from 166 to 195 last year, but he also had 31 more walks, which helped translate to a 29-point increase in his on-base percentage, to a career-best .336 in 2017.
Davis was the club's primary left fielder during a career-high 153 games last year, but with the offseason trade for right fielder Stephen Piscotty, Matt Joyce will likely move to left field and Davis is slated to be the A's primary designated hitter in 2018. He is one of many power cogs in a lineup that has plenty of home-run capability, along with Joyce, who hit 25 homers last year, Marcus Semien, who hit 27 in '16 when healthy and Piscotty, who has 20-homer potential.
Davis' salary will more than double next year from the $5 million he earned in his first year of arbitration. He remains under club control through 2019.